Opposites Attract
by saraluver
Summary: Nick and Sara are married... to other people. But their marriage are on the rocks. Then, they found each other. Could there be a future for this forbidden love? SNICKER CHAPTER 7 UPDATED
1. Chapter 1

Title: Opposites Attract

Summary: Nick and Sara are married but to other people. However their marriages are on the rocks. Then, they found each other. Could there be a future for this forbidden love?

Pairing: Nick/Sara

* * *

Chapter 1

"Sara, I'm home," called Richard Montana putting his keys into the key basket. He and Sara were married for almost four years. They had known each other since college and that was how long Rich had feelings for her. Finally, he had the courage to tell his feelings and now they are married.

He walked into the bedroom and saw Sara was sound asleep in her baby-T and shorts. He smiled and joined her on the bed. Even after four years, he still loved her like the first time he saw her.

"Hi love," said Rich wrapping his arm around Sara's slender waist and kissed the back of Sara's head.

"Hey Rich," said Sara sleepily.

"You're not working?" asked Rich caressing Sara's arm up and down.

"Got the night off."

"Great, so why don't we have dinner at the Sphinx? It's been a long time since we had a romantic dinner together," said Rich.

"I'm not in the mood, Rich," said Sara.

"Aww, come on Sara, it'll be fun," said Rich.

"Rich, I'm serious," said Sara and glared at him over her shoulder.

"Okay, sorry," said Rich. Sara turned and continued to sleep. Rich started peppering kisses on Sara's neck. He figured Sara needed something to make her relax and he knew exactly what it was.

"Rich, stop it," said Sara.

"I'm just trying to get you to relax, Sara, you're all tense," said Rich continuing his assault on Sara's neck.

"I just work a triple, I'm exhausted, do you really think I'm in the mood for sex?" asked Sara bitterly. She was really tired and Rich did not help with her mood.

"What's the matter with you? I'm just trying to make you feel better," said Rich letting go of Sara and sat up.

"Are you trying to make me better or yourself?"

"How could you, Sara? You're talking like I married you just for sex," said Rich.

You know what, I'm not discussing this," said Sara taking her pillow and blanket to sleep outside on the couch.

"Sara, come back here! I'm sorry," said Rich quickly getting off the bed and taking hold of Sara's arm.

"Sara, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were tired, come on, we'll just sleep," said Rich. Sara sighed and got on the bed and turned away from Rich. Rich laid beside her and looked at her. He sighed and turned to his side.

He did not know what was going wrong because the fights were getting more often these days. He did not know what he was doing wrong because he loved his wife more than anything and he did everything a good husband should do. Some people say the passion between two married couple lessens as each year went by. But not to him. He loved Sara like the first day he met her. Nothing had changed since then. Apparently Sara did not feel the same way. But Rich was an optimistic. He would not give up on his marriage.

* * *

Nick was exhausted. He just had the worst case and longest shift. All he wanted was to get home and fall onto his bed and sleep for the longest time. He opened the door with his keys because he knew at around that time his wife Emma Stokes would either still at work, the place she was around most or she was asleep. As he walked in, he saw Emma sitting on the couch flipping through channels.

"Hey Em," said Nick leaning down to kiss her. Instead, he just got an angry glare from her.

"What's wrong?" asked Nick.

"You get home late and you still have the nerve to ask me what's wrong?" said Emma angrily.

"I had to work overtime, what's wrong with you? You've never had any problem of me working overtime before."

"That's not why I'm mad about."

"Then what?" asked Nick. He really did not want to deal with what was bothering Emma. He was tired.

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" said Emma turning off the television and went into the bedroom.

"Emma," called Nick to her, who was sitting on the bed.

"This is for you," said Emma bitterly. Nick took the package from on top of the bed and opened it. In the box contained a Calvin Klein's Obsession perfume with a small card attached to it. As Nick read the card, a sudden realization dawned on him.

"Em, I'm so sorry, it completely slipped my mind, I was so busy with work…,"

"I work too Nick and I'm as busy as you are but I still remember our own wedding anniversary, work is no excuse, Nick," said Emma. He could hear the hurt in her words.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I don't value our marriage."

"You forgetting our anniversary says a lot, Nick."

"Em…,"

"You know what, I'm going to sleep, I really don't want to deal with this after waiting for you for hours to get home."

Nick just sighed. He really did not mean to forget their anniversary. It just slipped off of his mind.

"I just hope you don't forget I'm your wife," said Emma. She laid on the bed and turned to he side. Nick decided against the idea of trying to talk to Emma at the moment because he knew her too well. She needed time to vent.

Nick had known Emma since he was a little boy. She was his childhood friend and they grew up together. His mother was very fond of Emma. Truth be told, the reason he married Emma was because of his mom. His mom kept pestering Nick to get married and constantly talked about Emma on how a good wife she would be. He figured she was a good friend and it would satisfy his mother. But being good friends did not guarantee a happy marriage. Being friends to lovers was very complicated. Nick started to think back the decision he made few years back. But he could not do anything about it now. He just got to bear it and be a good husband to Emma as much as he could.

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How was it? Trust me it's gonna be snickerish. Just wait and see. Please review. I really wanna know what you think. 


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the long hiatus. I just finished the biggest exams of my high school life. So here's the second chapter.

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Chapter 2

Few hours later, Sara woke up to get ready for work. She turned and saw Rich was sleeping soundly. She recalled the fight they had and sighed. Was it her fault? She was really tired and Rich did not help with him hovering over her. But he was just trying to make her feel better. Sara decided to analyze it later with a clearer mind.

Rich stirred when ne heard Sara coming out of the bathroom. He sat up as Sara was getting dressed.

"You slept okay?" asked Sara.

"Yeah, you?"

Sara just nodded and looked at him.

"Sara, about yesterday, I'm sorry," said Rich.

"It was my fault too, Rich, I was too sensitive."

"Yeah, but I should have known, you were tired…,"

"Rich, it's okay," said Sara.

Rich just smiled.

"I gotta go to work, see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

Sara gave him a kiss on the lips and when she pulled away she had this disgusted look on her face.

"Urgh, morning breath," said Sara.

Rich just laughed.

"Hey, if it was your breath, I wouldn't have mind," said Rich.

Sara just stuck her tongue out him and left for work. Rich just smiled. Even after years of knowing Sara, he still did not totally understand her. One day she could be in her worst mood and the next day she was back to her normal self. Sometimes it was hard and confusing being married to Sara but Rich did not regret it one bit.

* * *

"Hey," said Sara, walking into the break room. The only occupant of the room was Nick who was sitting on the couch looking glum. Sara figured it was because bad coffee since Greg was not in yet to brew his special blend.

"Hey," said Nick. Sara got a cup a coffee and sat down next to him.

"What's wrong?" asked Sara.

"Nothing," said Nick. He really did not want to discuss his marriage life with Sara.

"Then why are you sitting with that sour face? Is the coffee that bad?"

"That's part of it."

"What's the other part?" asked Sara.

"You really won't drop this, will you?" asked Nick, looking at Sara.

"Nope, because I know you're not okay and I wanna help."

Nick just smiled. He knew he could count on Sara to be there for him. Out of all his coworkers, Sara was the closest one and she became his best friend. She was the one that helped him emotionally when he was about to marry Emma.

"It's Emma," said Nick, sighing.

"What about her?"

"I forgot our anniversary," said Nick.

"You didn't," said Sara, disbelievingly.

"Yeah, I did."

"How did she react?" asked Sara even though she was pretty sure of Emma's reaction.

"She was pissed, she even cooked dinner and stuff and she waited me all night to come home."

"Did you apologize?" asked Sara.

"I did, many times."

"And?"

"She said work was no excuse?"

"You just have to let her cool down a little while, I'm sure everything will work out soon."

"I hope so," said Nick even though he did not really believe everything will turn out okay.

"What would you do if Rich forgot your anniversary?" asked Nick.

"I don't think that's even possible," said Sara, chuckling bitterly.

"You make that sound so bad," said Nick.

"It's not; it's just sometimes I feel he's too perfect."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"It has its pros and cons but we're okay, I couldn't ask for anything more," said Sara not believing for a second the words that were coming out of her mouth.

"Emma said something that made me think yesterday."

"What?"

"That I'm not into our marriage anymore."

"Well, are you?" asked Sara, looking at him. Nick turned to her, not sure how to answer that question. Obviously he should have just said _"Of course not, I love her."_But something was holding him back from saying that. His feelings were not synchronized with his mouth. He was ashamed he was having these thoughts. But he could not help himself. It was how he felt.

Nick was saved from answering Sara's question because Grissom came into the room to distribute the cases. He broke his gaze from Sara but he could feel her eyes on him. He just ignored it and took his assignment and went straight to his scene.

* * *

Sara just finished her case with Greg. They were on their way from PD to the lab.

"So, how's life in paradise for Sara Montana?" asked Greg.

"It's Sara Sidle, Greg, you know I don't take Rich's last name."

"Why's that? Usually a woman will be more than delighted to have her hubby's name."

"I have my reasons," said Sara, not wanting to broach the subject with Greg.

"How's Rich, anyway?"

"He's great."

"What happened to him? I haven't seen him around the lab for years." said Greg. When Sara and Rich were not married, Rich was always around the lab either to take Sara for a date or dropping her off at the lab.

"He's just busy with his PR company, you know how hectic that can be," said Sara. Rich had his own public relation company that he had worked himself from the start. Business was doing great. He was one of the most eligible bachelor before he married Sara and he could be with any woman he desired but he still had his heart for Sara because she was the one who was there for him even before he had a company or become rich.

"How's living in Summerlin working out for you?"

"It's okay, I guess," said Sara. Rich and Sara just moved to a bungalow in Summerlin. Sara was not really comfortable with that but Rich was so excited and determined. Sara just went with it because she figured he was just trying to make their lives more comfortable.

"Hey, we're here," said Sara. She was grateful they were at the lab already because she really did not want to answer anymore questions about Rich.

They walked into the lab and were on their way to the locker room to get their stuff since it was the end of their shift. As they passed in front of Grissom's office, she heard Grissom calling her. She walked into the room and saw Grissom behind his desk with a pile of paperwork in front of him.

"What's up, Griss?" asked Sara.

"I need to talk to you," said Grissom.

"About what?" asked Sara, sitting on one of the chairs.

"The department is having a dinner party."

"So? Why are you telling me this?" asked Sara not really understanding what was Grissom's point.

"Rich has a PR company, right?"

"Yeah," said Sara, not liking where this conversation was heading.

"I was wondering if his company could organize it."

"Why Rich? There are a lot of other PR company in Vegas."

"Ecklie thought Rich could give the department a discount, something about cutting on budget."

"Why is he having this dinner party if he wants to save on budget?"

"He wants to impress the mayor."

"Figures," said Sara.

"So, is it okay? Can you talk to Rich?" asked Grissom.

"But…,"

"Sara, please" said Grissom.

"Urgh, fine, I'll talk to him but no promises."

"Thanks, that's all I need."

"Anything else?"

"No, that's all," said Grissom.

Sara got up and went out of Grissom's office, sighing.

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Hope you guys liked it. Tell me in a REVIEW!


	3. Chapter 3

Looks like my second chapter wasn't that good since I didn't get that many reviews. So I just thought a faster update will help me get more reviews. Haha. Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 3

Sara just arrived home from the lab and could not wait to make herself some breakfast and going to sleep. As she walked into the house, smell of pancakes came teasing her senses. She was quite puzzled by this because Rich was supposed to be at work and the maids only came during the weekend. A robber could not have stopped and made breakfast for himself, could he? Sara just brushed those nonsense thoughts and peered into the kitchen. There stood Rich in his boxers and singlet cooking by the stove.

"Hey," said Sara walking up to him.

"You're home, good, breakfast coming right up," said Rich.

"Thanks god, I'm starving," said Sara.

"You go fresh up first, I'll call when breakfast is done."

"Thanks, Rich," said Sara, giving him a kiss on the cheek and went into their bedroom.

Few minutes later Sara went back into the kitchen but Rich was not in there. She went into the living room and Rich was putting the pancakes on the coffee table.

"Hey, the breakfast's ready," said Rich when he noticed Sara looking at him.

"Why can't we just eat in the kitchen?" asked Sara walking up to him.

"I just thought we could watch a movie while we eat," said Rich, turning on the flat screen TV.

"What movie did you get?" asked Sara sitting on the couch.

"Enchanted."

"Ooohh… Patrick Dempsey, nice choice," said Sara. Rich just smiled at her.

"On second thought, we should watch something else," said Rich.

"Aww…are you jealous?" asked Sara, grinning.

"Well, yeah, my wife is saying another guy is more attractive than me," said Rich taking a seat on the couch and gave a plate of pancakes to Sara and one for himself.

Sara laughed and took a bite from her breakfast.

"You're not gonna sat anything to ease my jealousy?"

"Nope," said Sara just watching the movie but a smile was still etched on her face.

"You're evil, you know that?" said Rich.

Sara laughed even more and turned to him. She gave him a quick peck on the lips and stuck her tongue at him as she pulled away. Rich could not help but grinned.

"I think you're the most attractive woman I've ever laid my eyes on," said Rich.

"Men, always say the sweetest things but I'm just not sure if they really mean it," said Sara.

"I really mean it, Sara," said Rich. Lately if he gave any compliments to Sara, she would either give remarks like she just did or she would ignore him. When they started dating she would blush and smile whenever he gave her compliments. Those smiles and blushes were something he really missed and crazy about.

Sara just kept silent and continued watching the movie.

"Rich, I need to talk to you about something," said Sara, suddenly halfway through the movie.

"What is it, honey?"

"The lab is having a dinner party and Ecklie wants your company to organize it."

"Why me?"

"They thought you could give a discount, the department is on a budget."

"Oh."

"So, do you want to do it or not?" asked Sara.

"Of course, I could even do it for free, but do you want me to do it?"

"I don't know, it's up to you," said Sara. Even though she said those words, her tone contradicted her words.

"If you don't want to do it, just tell me, I won't do it," said Rich. He hated it when Sara was being difficult.

"It's entirely up to you, Rich, I'm just not into parties."

"That's ironic because you married someone who organizes events and parties," said Rich with a bitter chuckle.

"That's a part of your life that I'm not in."

"Then which part of my life that you are involved in, Sara," asked Rich, sarcastically.

"Which part of my life that you're involved in, huh, Rich? You ever think about that?" asked Sara. She was really getting ticked off by Rich at the moment.

"Your work is your life, Sara."

"Now you have a problem with my job? Have you ever even stopped once to really get to know what I do?"

"I want to, I really do, but you're the one that won't let me, like for instance this dinner party, you're not comfortable with the idea of me organizing it, I can tell, why Sara? You're afraid I'll find out about your thing with Grissom?" said Rich. He was pissed and did not think before he opened his mouth.

"What the hell are you talking about? There's nothing between me and Grissom and you know that!" said Sara. She knew Rich was just trying to let out his anger and not thinking straight.

"I wouldn't know for sure by the amount of time you spend at the lab!"

"I've heard enough of this," said Sara getting up and walking towards the door.

"I'm doing the dinner party," said Rich.

"Do whatever the hell that you want, I don't really care right now," said Sara. She took the car keys and went out of the house.

Rich turned off the flat screen TV and groaned out of frustration.

* * *

Sara did not know where she was going and she did not really care. All she wanted was to get as far from Rich as possible. Even though they tried to deny it, Rich and Sara knew their marriage was crumbling down, day by day. This was not what she bargained for when she married Rich. She thought she would be happy marrying her best friend but how wrong could she be. A happy ending was far from happening.

Sara decided to go to the nearest diner to get some coffee and could clear her mind at the same time. As she sat in one of the farthest booth, she kept thinking about how her life would end up if she did not marry Rich. Her thoughts were broken by someone taking a seat in front of her. At first she thought it was Rich because throughout their marriage he was the one that always tried to make up everything. Instead she faced a smiling face of Nick Stokes.

"Hey," said Nick.

"What are you doing?" asked Sara.

"I was just getting some breakfast and I saw you."

"Oh," said Sara.

"So, what about you? What are you doing here?"

"Just thinking."

"Everything okay?" asked Nick.

"Yeah," lied Sara.

"Hey, you wanna go somewhere?" asked Nick. He knew Sara was not okay about something and he just had a fight with Emma because he suspected her of having an affair with her partner, Jeff. The fight got heated and Nick decided he had to leave before he did something rash.

"Go where?" asked Sara.

"I don't know, anywhere we can forget about all our problems for a while, like an arcade."

Sara just chuckled at his suggestion. But when she saw Nick was serious, she stopped.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Uh…okay," said Sara. She was stressed out and any idea was okay to her other than going back home right then.

"Let's go," said Nick.

They decided to take a ride in Nick's car and leave Sara's at the diner. He would drop her off when they wanted to go home.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," said Sara smiling broadly as they parked in front of the mall.

"Come on, Sara, it'll be fun," said Nick.

They went towards the arcade and they could already hear screams and laughter of children and teenagers. As they walked into the entrance, they could not help but smile at the sight before them. Children were running around, playing the games and some were in a pool of balls.

"Wanna play the video games?" asked Nick.

"Yeah!" said Sara, excitedly.

They exchanged their money for tokens and headed for the games.

"I wanna play the motor race," said Nick.

"Where you have to get on those?" asked Sara pointing at one of the pretend motorcycles.

"Yeah," said Nick.

"Don't you think I'm a little old for that?"

"When's the last time you went to an arcade? And not on a case? It's time to embrace your inner child, Sara," said Nick. Sara laughed at how excited Nick was.

"Sure, why not?" said Sara as she followed Nick towards the ride. Nick got on the bike and waited for Sara to do the same.

"Sara, come on!" said Nick. Sara sighed and reluctantly got on the other bike. She looked around to see if anybody was staring at her. But all she saw was a bunch of children and teenagers playing, oblivious of everything around them. Both of them put in the tokens and the race began.

Sara had never driven a bike before but she was thinking she should have because it was fun. They laughed every time their bikes crashed or hit another bike. They were enjoying themselves so much they almost forgot they had with their spouses.

"I win! I win!" cried Sara as she crossed the finish line and followed closely by Nick.

"Urgh, I was so close!" said Nick, could not believe he just lost.

"Who knew I was so good at this?"

"That was just luck, Sara."

Sara just rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're a sore loser, you know that?"

Nick just laughed at her.

"Okay, so what do you wanna play next?" asked Nick, scanning the arcade.

"I wanna play that gun thing," said Sara, pointing at the game which we have to shoot the enemy with a mock gun.

"You have a real gun and you still wanna play that?"

"It's not like I could shoot anyone with it," reasoned Sara.

"Fine, let's go," said Nick.

Sara took the gun from its holster and Nick inserted a token into the machine. The game was only for one person. So, Nick let Sara play. The game started and in just 2 minutes Sara already lost all of her lives.

"This game sucks," said Sara. Nick could not help but smiled at her.

"Now who's the sore loser?"

"How do you expect me to shoot a dozen of man eating icky creatures at one time?"

"You just have to be quick, come on, let's try again, I'll help you," said Nick, inserting another token into the slot. Sara held the gun in her hand while Nick wrapped his arms around Sara from behind. Sara pulled the trigger while Nick skillfully moved the gun to the left and right. While in Nick's arms, Sara could not help but smelled his cologne and enjoying the feel of his breath tickling her neck. His arms around her making her feel warm and fuzzy inside and she did not know why but she liked it.

Finally, they managed to kill all the creatures and the game ended.

"How about that? We killed them all," whispered Nick near her ear.

"Yeah," said Sara putting the gun into the holster and that made Nick pulled his arms from Sara. Sara turned and they were only inches apart. They gazed into each other's eyes until they heard a shrill of laughter.

"Uh… I need to go to the rest room," said Sara.

"Um..okay, hey, you wanna grab something to eat after that?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Meet me over there, okay?" said Nick pointing at one of the restaurant.

"Okay," said Sara.

As Nick walked towards the restaurant, he relished the feeling of wrapping Sara in his arms. It felt so nice and right. He knew he should not be having those feelings for Sara since he was a married man and Sara was happily married to Rich. He just brushed those thoughts away. He figured he was just frustrated with Emma and got caught up in the moment.

* * *

How was it? Please tell me what you think. I'd really appreciate it! 


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back from my long hiatus. Hope there are still people following this fic. On with the new chapter!

* * *

Chapter 4

After having some cotton candy and veggie burgers, and some more game playing, they decided it was time to go home much to their dismay. Nick dropped off Sara at the diner where her car was.

"Thanks Nick, going to Circus Circus was a really a great idea," said Sara.

"Hey, if you want someone to be childish, you could always call me, I'm your man," said Nick, smiling.

"You're great, you know that," said Sara, looking into his eyes.

"You're great too," replied Nick. For a moment their gazes locked. Both could not help but feel these strange feelings in their hearts and for a moment it felt nice to just get away and forget all their problems at home.

"Seriously Sara, if you need anything or have any problem, just call me, I'm there," said Nick, breaking their gaze, reluctantly.

"Okay," said Sara, slightly scolding herself for getting caught in the moment.

"See you later at work, Nick," said Sara, getting out of the car.

"Bye, Sara."

Sara slowly walked towards her car. She could not help but felt that was the best time she had ever had since years. Nick really knew how to cheer her up. How could they have not done this sooner? Maybe because both of them are embarrassed to admit that their marriages were not perfect like they wanted other people to think. It was nice having another person that she could let loose and be not perfect for a while. But for now she had to go back home and face reality.

First thing she noticed as soon as she arrived home was that Rich's Jaguar was absent. Was she her bad wife that she heaved a sigh of relief knowing his husband was not home? She figured he had gone to work and wanted to clear his mind. She was thankful for that since she was not ready to face him just yet.

She took one of the beers in the refrigerator and flopped on the couch. As she sat on the couch, the picture of her and Rich's wedding on the table was like looking back at her, taunting her. Her marriage was falling apart and she knew it. Rich knew it too but he was an optimist, he would do everything to save their marriage. Sara wanted to do the same thing but her heart really was not into the marriage anymore. She finished the beer and placed the empty bottle on the coffee table. Few minutes later she was fast asleep with her troubled marriage swirling in her mind.

* * *

"Hey Sara," said Nick as he walked into the break room. Sara was already seated on the couch having a cup of coffee.

"Hey Nick," said Sara, smiling. Just his presence could make her smile.

"How are you?" asked Nick, sitting next to Sara.

"I'm okay, why wouldn't I be?" asked Sara, pretending like everything was okay.

"Wanna do something crazy later?" asked Nick, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"We'll see about that," said Sara, laughing.

Few seconds later Warrick, Greg and Catherine went into the break room and joined Nick and Sara.

"You look happy today," commented Warrick to Greg who was grinning from ear to ear.

"I just bought a ring!" exclaimed Greg.

"You're proposing to Jenna?" asked Catherine indicating Greg's girlfriend who he had been seeing for a few months.

"Yeah, but I don't know when, I'm a little nervous."

"Don't worry about it, look at Nick and Sara, they're happy, right Nick?" asked Warrick.

"It has its ups and downs," said Nick.

"Have you thought about it thoroughly?" asked Sara.

"Yeah," said Greg a little freaked because Nick and Sara were indicating marriage was a bad thing.

"Just don't do it if you have doubts, you might regret it later," said Nick, cryptically.

Just then Grissom came in with assignments in his hands.

"Okay, 419 for Nick and Sara and…,"

"Gil, a word, please," said Ecklie Suddenly at the doorway. Grissom reluctantly joined him at the hallway. They talked for a few minutes before they entered the break room.

"Sidle, is Rich ready to organise the party for us?" asked Ecklie.

"Yeah, he'd even do it for free," said Sara.

"Really? That's very generous of him," said Ecklie, quite impressed.

"Yeah, that he is," said Sara, not really meaning it.

"When can we meet him to make the arrangements?"

"You know what Ecklie, why don't you just call him, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help you," said Sara taking out one of Rich's cards she had lying around in her bag.

"Okay, thanks," said Ecklie, leaving the room.

"Wow, Sara, for free? You're really lucky to have him in your life," said Catherine.

"Yeah, very lucky, can we get back to work now?" asked Sara, trying to mask her irritation.

* * *

Few weeks later:

"Where have you been?" asked Nick as Emma walked into the house.

"I'm so sorry, Nick."

"I've already told you about this dinner party weeks ago, Em," said Nick, irritated.

"I know, but we had a client at the last second," said Emma

"We? As in Adam and you?"

"Nick, don't start," said Emma as she sat on their bed.

"Oh, this is just great," said Nick throwing his hands in their air, with a humorless laugh.

He suspected Emma of having an affair with her partner, Adam, because he had been having feelings for her since they worked together. But in reality Nick was just trying to make a big deal out of nothing since he was not into their marriage nowadays. He would say anything to pick a fight with Emma, just trying to let out his own frustrations, instead of trying to talk to her. He knew Emma would never cheat on him, she loved him too much despite their problems.

"Nick, you know there's nothing going between me and Adam."

"But he seems too cozy with you," said Nick.

"What the hell are you talking about? He's my partner, we just work together."

"Of course, you know what, next time I'll ask him before hand if I want to borrow my wife for the night, since he's your 'partner'," said Nick, sarcastically.

"I want to go to this dinner party, Nick, I just got caught up with work, and we still have time."

"I think the only reason you're going to this party is because you just want to keep your reputation as the great businesswoman in Vegas, not for me," said Nick.

Emma just looked at him disbelievingly. He did not know how his words pierced her heart. She heaved a sigh of disappointment.

"What happened to the sweet man that I knew few years back, huh? What happened to you Nick?"

"You were the one that lost him, Emma," said Nick before he went out of their bedroom. Emma just sighed with tears in her eyes. Her marriage was going downhill and she knew it. She did not know what was going on with Nick. He was bitter and hostile to her and it puzzled her what was going through his mind. But she loved Nick more than anything and she was going to make their marriage work.

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Hope you guys like it. Review please!


	5. Chapter 5

Yay! Some people still like my stories. Since you guys have been so great here's another chapter

* * *

Chapter 5

"Ready to party, babe?" asked Rich, sliding his arms around Sara's waist as she sat combing her hair in front of the mirror.

"I guess," said Sara, not really convincingly.

"What's wrong, honey?" asked Rich as she placed his head on Sara's shoulder.

"Nothing, I'm just not in the mood to party," said Sara.

"Don't worry, I'll get you in the mood," said Rich. Sara just gave him a weak smile.

"Are you ready?" asked Sara.

"I just need to change my clothes."

"Rich, we're already late, go and change your clothes."

"Alright, sometimes I forget if you're my wife or my mom," said Rich, jokingly.

"I wouldn't have to baby you if you don't act like one," replied Sara. Rich just chuckled.

"Oh, by the way, we're sitting at the VIP table tonight," said Rich.

"What? Why?" asked Sara, turning to him.

"The lab director thought we should since I organized it for free."

"You go sit by yourself, Rich, I wanna sit with my colleagues."

"What? No, I wanna sit with you, what would people say if we sit separately, why can't you just sit at the VIP table?"

"I just don't want to, okay? I don't want people to think I'm getting extra treatment just because my husband has a big PR company."

"Well, I can't help it if I'm successful, you know, other women would be glad to have a husband like me."

"I'm not other women, Rich."

"Yeah, you're not, you're more complicated, sometimes I just don't get you, Sara."

"Maybe we shouldn't be together then," said Sara looking sharply at Rich like she really meant it. Sara's words pierced his heart. He could not imagine not being with Sara. He loved her too much. He could not believe Sara would say such things. He just thought it was a spur in the moment thought.

"Sara..," started Rich, softly.

"You know what, I don't wanna hear it, I'm sitting with my friends and that's final," said Sara turning her attention back to the mirror. Rich just sighed and went into the bathroom.

* * *

At the party:

"Great, you've made it!" said Ecklie as he saw Rich with Sara in the hall.

"Conrad, nice to see you again," said Rich, shaking hands with Ecklie. Sara just rolled her eyes.

"_Great, he's making friends with Ecklie now," thought Sara._

Sara felt like screaming. Even thought it was Rich who was getting all the attention, she still hated it because she was his wife. She really did not need any extra attention.

"Sir," called Ecklie to the lab director as he was talking to somebody else.

"This is Rich Montana and his wife, Sara Sidle, one of our CSIs," introduced Ecklie.

"Nice to finally meet you," said the lab director as he shook his hands with Rich.

"Likewise, sir," said Rich.

"I just want to say thank you again on behalf of the lab for organizing this party, for free might I add."

"It was my pleasure, sir."

"Come and join me," said the lab director indicating Rich and Sara to join him at the VIP table.

"Uh..no thanks, sir, we already have our table," said Rich. Sara was surprised with his answer because she was sure she was going to alone tonight.

"Oh, that's okay then, thanks again Rich."

"You're welcome and I hope you enjoy this party."

"I'm sure I will."

Rich and Sara left and headed to where Nick, Emma, Grissom, Catherine, Warrick and Greg were sitting.

"How..," started Sara.

"I called my staff and he rearranged the seating."

"Oh," was the only thing Sara could utter, feeling a little guilty for saying all those nasty stuff to him.

"Hey Sara," said Catherine as they sat at the table.

"Hey Cath."

"You look lovely tonight, Sara," commented Grissom.

"Thanks, Griss," said Sara giving his a smile. Rich could not help but feel a pang of jealousy in his heart.

"You're a lucky guy, Rich," said Greg.

"Yeah, I sure am," said Rich taking a hold of Sara's hand. Sara just gave him a glare.

"But I think I'm luckier, Emma works so much I barely see her, that's every husband's dream, right?" said Nick, jokingly. That got a decent laugh from the others.

"Very funny, Nick," said Emma, glaring at him.

Grissom was the only one that noticed the exchanged looks between the two couples. He just said nothing about it because he figured marriage had its ups and downs.

"I think I need a drink," said Grissom trying to excuse himself.

"Great, let's all get drunk," said Rich. He was about to ask Sara to join him but when he saw her gloomy face, he stopped.

"Emma, would you like to join me?" asked Rich.

"Uh, sure," said Emma. She would rather do something else than sitting next to a grumpy Nick all night She had a party to enjoy. Warrick and Catherine made their way to the dance floor while Greg was already there, moving to the groove with some blonde he just picked up.

"Do you know a good divorce lawyer?" said Nick jokingly. That brought a small smile on Sara's face.

"I hate parties like this," said Nick.

"Yeah, me too, I'd rather take a decomp than being here right now."

Nick laughed and shook his head.

"You're priceless, you know that," said Nick.

"Everything okay with you and Emma?" asked Sara.

"Yeah, just a little fight, no big deal, we'll be okay by tomorrow," said Nick. Even though he knew that was a lie.

"Oh," said Sara. She knew Nick was not telling the truth. Something made her feel that Nick's marriage was just like hers.

Few minutes later, Sara and Nick still sat at the table, talking with each other and oblivious to the people around them. They were just content talking. It was a long time since they could just talk and not fight. 

They did not even notice the song changed into a higher tempo song. As Sara was talking to Nick, she was pulled from her seat by someone. It was Rich, drunk as hell.

"Rich..,"

"Come on, Sara, let's dance," said Rich slurring his words. He pulled her to the dance floor.

"Rich, I don't wanna dance," said Sara trying to pull herself out of his tight embrace.

"No, you're my wife! And I want to dance with you," said Rich tightening his hold on Sara. He was frustrated with Sara and his drunk state made him lost all inhabitations.

"No, you're drunk, Rich," said Sara, struggling in Rich's arms. Thankfully the music was loud and everybody was too bust dancing to notice.

Finally Sara pushed Rich with all her might and that made Rich fell onto the floor. That made some of the people looked at them, including the whole graveyard team. Grissom was just sitting at the bar witnessing the incident since it started. Nick did not leave his eyes off of Sara.

Rich finally realized his actions. Sara just looked at him, with tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. Finally she just walked out of the hall. Nick quickly ran after her. He did not care about everything else, including his wife, Emma who was busy dancing with some guy. All he knew he wanted to make sure Sara was okay.

* * *

Hope you like it. Review please. I updated In Your Loving Arms as well.


	6. Chapter 6

On with the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 6

"Sara, are you okay?" asked Nick as he sat next to Sara who was sitting in the bench outside the hall. When he went out of the hall, Sara was sitting with her head in her hands. From her body language, he could tell she was crying. Now that the question came out of his mouth, he realized how stupid that sounded. Obviously she was not okay. Nick just hated seeing Sara miserable and sad and he wished he could do everything in his power to make her feel better.

"Yeah, I'm just peachy," said Sara, sarcastically.

"I know it's not in my place to ask you what's going on with your marriage, but I just want you to know that I'm here for you. I'm your friend, Sara," said Nick, wrapping her hand in his.

Sara looked at him through her tear-filled eyes. From his words she realized all this while she had someone to confide into but she was too embarrassed to admit her marriage was falling apart. You did not have to be a rocket scientist to see that Nick was in the same boat as she was. Anybody could see his marriage with Emma was not in paradise. She guessed she did not want to put her nose where it did not belong.

"My marriage's falling apart, Nick," said Sara. Just when the words were out of her mouth, she realized how painful it was to admit her failure to other people.

"Talk to me, Sara, I wanna help."

"You know, you could always talk to me too, I know your marriage is not that different from mine from what I have seen."

Nick just sighed. He knew Sara's words were all true but it was that easy to admit it.

"Yeah, I just don't know what's going on."

"I need a friend, Nick, someone that understands my situation and who better to be that someone that who is in the same position with me, I just need someone to talk to, who is not judgmental and can just listen and I think you need one too," said Sara, looking into his eyes.

Nick just stared at her, contemplating her words, trying to find the meaning behind her words. Finally, he spoke.

"Would you like to have coffee with me tomorrow? We're both off," said Nick.

"Yeah, I'd love that," said Sara.

At that precise moment, they realized their relationship had changed. That invitation was not like normal outing they were used to like going out for coffee after shift. That was when they would tell something that they could not ever tell other people, not even their spouses.

"You wanna go back in?" asked Nick.

"Yeah, sure," said Sara even though she would rather stay out in the night breeze with Nick than facing a drunk Rich. But she knew she had to. She could not leave Rich just like that. He was still her husband and best friend.

As they walked into the hall, Sara scanned for Rich at the dance floor and the table but he was nowhere to be seen. Nick spotted Emma at one of the tables talking away with Catherine, Warrick and Greg. Nick led Sara by putting his hand on the small of her back and they went straight to the table. As Nick and Sara approached them, Emma could not help but notice where Nick's hand was. She tried hard to quench the jealousy but could not stop herself from wondering why he had to go after Sara.

"Hey," said Nick.

"Sara, Grissom sent Rich home, he left the car keys," said Catherine handing the keys.

"Uh, thanks."

"Are you okay?" asked Greg. He could not help but feel for his best friend and mentor.

"Yeah, I think I just wanna head home," said Sara.

"You're gonna be okay?" asked Nick.

"Yeah, I just need to make sure Rich's okay," said Sara.

She gave him a weak smile and made her way towards the exit. Nick joined and sat next to Emma.

"Hey, you ready to leave?"

"Yeah, I'm beat," said Emma.

"Okay, come on."

* * *

As Sara parked into the driveway, she turned off the engine and sat inter car. She kept replaying the events that had occurred at the party. She knew she was too harsh towards Rich and she did not even know why. Sure, Rich was being a jerk for forcing her to do something she did not want to do but he was drunk and she should not have left him just like that on the floor.

Finally, Sara took a deep breath and went into the house. First she thought Rich would definitely be on the couch because there was no way he could make it as far as the bedroom while being intoxicated like that. But to her surprise he was not there. She headed towards their bedroom and finally found Rich sprawled on the bed with his shoes still on and his tuxedo still loosely around her body.

Sara got out of her dress and changed into one of Rich's work shirts. Then she slowly took off his shoes and socks, also his tuxedo because he looked awfully uncomfortable in them but when she tried to take 

off his shirt, he stirred a little. Sara just left the shirt unbuttoned and joined him on the bed. She cuddled up to him and she swore she felt Rich tightening his arms around her. She smiled and let sleep overtook her.

* * *

Sara was just enjoying her much-needed sleep when she was jolted awake by her husband getting off of the bed and running towards the bathroom. She was expecting this because Rich was not much of a drinker despite his social job. He must have been pretty stressed out to be drinking like that and Sara felt guilty for maing him feel like that.

"Baby, are you okay?" asked Sara standing next to Rich who was kneeling by the toilet bowl, wrenching everything that was left in his stomach.

"Hangover, sucks," said Rich. The only words he could utter.

Sara kneeled down next to him and took off his shirt. Finally Rich finished vomiting and rinsed his mouth by the sink.

"I think you should get something to eat, I don't think there's anything left in your stomach right now," said Sara.

"No, not yet," said Rich, cringing.

"A t least change your clothes."

"Okay," said Rich.

As Rich wobbled towards the closet, Sara went into the kitchen in search of something that will make Rich feel better. Few seconds later Sara came back into the room and Rich was already changed into his boxer and T-shirt.

"Here, take these, it'll make you feel better," said Sara giving him two little aspirin and a glass of water.

"Thanks,"

"I think I wanna go back to sleep," said Rich.

"You go, I think I wanna cook something up, I know you will need it later."

"No, come join me, we can order out later, I sleep better when I'm with you."

"You need your rest, Rich."

"I know, just sleep," said Rich.

"Fine," said Sara crawling pass Rich and laid on her side of the bed. As Sara laid on the bed, Rich pulled her towards hi.

"I thought you wanted to sleep," said Sara.

"Is it so wrong if I want to hold my lovely wife in m arms?" said Rich, grinning.

"Sweet talker," replied Sara.

"And proud of it, now go to sleep, smartass."

Rich tightened his hold on Sara and they once again fell asleep.

* * *

An hour into her sleep, Sara was interrupted by the vibrating of her cell phone by the bedside table. She slowly untangled herself from Rich's hold and took the phone outside not to wake Rich up.

"Hey," whispered Sara, already knew Nick was on the other line.

"Hey, Sara, were you sleeping?" asked Nick because Sara sounded sleepy.

"Yeah"

"Oh, sorry."

"That's okay, why are you calling?"

"Why are you whispering?" asked Nick.

"Uh..nothing," said Sara. Actually she did not want Rich to hear her conversation despite she was not in his hearing distance. She could not help but feel guilty even though she was just talking to a friend. But the fact she was trying to hide it from Rich made it a little wrong. But she really needed Nick to be her friend that she could talk to and understand what she was going through and she knew Nick needed her as much as she did.

"Anyways, still up for that coffee?" asked Nick.

"Yeah."

"Meet me at Frank's in an hour."

"Okay, see you later."

"Bye, Sara."

Sara hung up and sighed. In an hour she was going to bare her life problems with someone other than herself. She was nervous because she would never do something like that in a million years. The old Sara would bottle everything up inside but it was getting too much. Everything was eating her inside bits by bits. But she was comforted by the fact that it was Nick, her dearest friend that she would be talking to. She knew Nick would never judge her for having problems with her own husband that she had to talk to other people about it. However, no one would understand her feelings until they were in her position.

* * *

"Sara?" whispered Rich, reaching out at Sara's side. He blinked a few times to get used to the sudden light. He sat up and turned to see if Sara had fallen off the bed or something. But only a piece of paper by the bedside table met his eyes.

_Got called in, had to leave real quick. Don't forget to eat something_

_ Sara_

Rich just sighed. Nothing could get between Sara and her work. It was frustrating sometimes. But he had to live with that because he knew what he got himself into. Sara was a workaholic and no one can change that. Rich threw the note into the wastebasket and headed towards the bathroom for the much needed shower. He stunk of wine, tequila and many other assortments of alcohol.

As she stood in the shower, he remembered the events that had transpired. He acted like an ass and he knew it. It was just that he was over the edge with the fights with Sara and he thought the booze would take the pain away just for a while. Boy was he wrong. That only made things worse. But then he was glad Sara did not ignore him completely. Now, she did something that she always did when they had a fight, bury herself into work.

When he was done, he headed for work, wondering if it was still standing. But he did not forget to eat something first, just like Sara told him to do.

* * *

Hope you liked it. This is longer than the previous ones I did. I'm hoping for more reviews ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for all the reviews! Here's a new chapter

* * *

Chapter 7

When Sara arrived at Frank's, Nick was already there. She saw him at one of the booths, throwing a smile in her direction. Even his smile could put her at ease.

"Hey," said Sara as she sat in front of Nick.

The waitress went to their table and took their orders. Sara just ordered a cup of coffee while Nick already had a glass of OJ.

"How's Rich?" asked Nick.

"He's got a serious hangover, he's sleeping now."

"Everything okay with you guys?" asked Nick. At the mention of that question, Sara started fidgeting and sighed.

"Sara, you don't have to tell me everything. I'm just here for you, trust me, I won't judge you."

"I know, I just feel weird, you and I both know I'm not someone who likes to share everything."

"I know it's hard but I know from personal experience, talking helps."

"How do you know?" asked Sara.

"Grissom made me go to a psychiatrist after my abduction."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for asking, it must have been hell going through that."

"Yeah, I mean talking to a complete stranger about your deepest, darkest secrets was not easy, but at least you're just talking to me," said Nick, giving Sara a reassuring smile. Sara returned the smile and a few moments she just stared at her coffee. Nick decided just to let her take her time. He knew it was not easy. Sara was not the only one that had marriage problems but he was also too afraid to tell everything to Sara.

"You wanna know why I married Rich?" said Sara suddenly.

"Why?" asked Nick, softly.

"I've known him since college, he was my best friend and in final year he told me he had feelings for me. But at the time I didn't think him as more than friends. So after graduation we went out separate ways but we still kept in touch. I mean, he was my dearest friend, then, a week after I moved to Vegas I bumped into him. He was living here as well. And we see each other almost everyday. All the while he kept thinking he wanted to pursue something more with me. Then one day he asked me out on a date. I answered three days later. Well, you know the answer and here I am."

"Why did you take three days to say yes?"

"Because I wasn't sure about dating him and I was still wasn't sure when I said yes."

"Then why did you agree?"

"You know what they say, friends make the best lovers. I just thought it was just one date, I had nothing to lose."

"Did you love him when you married him?" asked Nick.

"I did, but it's not the kind of love that I thought I would feel," said Sara.

"You mean the kind of love you see in cheesy movies? Where you feel like jumping off of a roof?"

"Well yeah, something like that," said Sara, chuckling.

"There are no such things as true love anymore, Sara. We just have to make do with what we have."

"You mean you don't love Emma?"

All of a sudden Nick was silent. He was taken off guard by Sara's question. It was not calculus or algebra but he did not know why but he found it hard to answer it.

"Nick, the question was not that hard," said Sara, smiling.

Nick just chuckled.

"We're happy, we made our own little world, and that's enough for me," said Nick.

"That still doesn't my question."

Nick sighed and smiled.

"Does it even matter? We're already married."

"Yes, it does. Without love you can never be happy," replied Sara.

"I told you, there are no such things as true love anymore,"

"What if I find it later?"

"You won't find it you don't go looking for it," answered Nick.

"Yeah," said Sara with a sigh. For a few moments they were lost in their own thoughts, pondering what they just talked about.

"How are you and Emma?" asked Sara after few moments of silence.

"She works too much," said Nick.

"And you don't?" asked Sara, sarcastically.

"I just have the feelings she's having an affair with her partner, Adam."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because she spends way too much time with him."

"They're partners, Nick," reasoned Sara.

"So you think I'm jealous over nothing?" asked Nick.

"Yeah, just like Rich thinking I have a thing for Grissom," said Sara.

"Are you serious?" asked Nick, laughing.

"Yeah, he can be a real pain sometimes."

"Oh man, Grissom? How could he even think that? The guy's practically emotionally impaired."

"But I don't think he really believes that, he just likes to use that card when we're fighting."

"That's just wrong," said Nick.

"I know, but I'm sure you do the same thing to Emma," said Sara.

"No, I don't..,"

"Don't lie, Nick, I have a husband, I know," said Sara.

"Okay fine, I do it sometimes," admitted Nick.

"I think you should stop that, you guys will be much better that way."

"Then what about you and Rich?"

"I don't know."

"I think you should give him a chance, we really should give our marriage a chance."

"I know, but I'm clueless what to do," said Sara.

"I told you, you have me and I might need your help too."

"Thanks Nick."

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter. It will be longer next time. Sara and Nick have their first unofficial 'date' on the next chapter. REVIEW!


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